Cash for Clunkers HURT, Not Helped, the Economy

[n david]

Hey JD, this is for you. A while back you listed the Cash for Clunkers as a big achievement from obama. I stated then that it was considered a massive failure.

Here's more data to prove how big a failure it was...

Story Link

PDF file

Researchers at Texas A&M, in a recently released report, measured the impact of Cash for Clunkers on sales and found the program actually decreased industry revenue by $3 billion over a nine-to-11-month period. Meanwhile, the "stimulus" also cost taxpayers $3 billion.

So we have a program which costs all taxpayers $3 billion to start, and which never brings a profit. Instead, it caused a huge decrease in revenue of $3 billion.

$6 billion wasted on obama's Cash for Clunkers program causing a negative effect on the economy. That's obamanomics for ya.

[ILG]

I think it was a big boon for China. Probably staved them off for a while.

[jfrog]

No real details on that article about the study

[n david]

Originally Posted by jfrog

No real details on that article about the study

Did you actually read the PDF report?

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by n david

Did you actually read the PDF report?

nope thought it was the same as the story link just in pdf form

[n david]

From the PDF file --

On net, the program did not result in any more vehicle purchases than otherwise would have occurred over the nine to eleven month period that includes the two program months.

Thus, we estimate that this stimulus program – which dispensed three billion dollars in subsidies toward the purchase of 677,000 new vehicles nationally – actually reduced revenues to the auto industry by around three billion dollars over the course of less than one year. This highlights how – even over a relatively short period of time – a conflicting policy objective can cause a stimulus program to instead have a contractionary net effect on the targeted industry.

obamanomics. Massive failure.

[aegsm76]

Don't confuse people with the facts.
You know that BHO was just trying to help, so any failure to help doesn't count.

[MondayMorning]

It was really stupid, but so was Bush's $600 tax refund checks.

[n david]

Originally Posted by MondayMorning

It was really stupid, but so was Bush's $600 tax refund checks.

I don't have the stats, but I would bet cash money the tax refund checks did more for the economy than cash for clunkers did.

[Carl]

Well my clunker sure helps the economy everytime it needs repair!